Early Signing Overview: QB Beau Allen

With the early signing period only a couple of weeks away Cats Illustrated is profiling each expected signee for Kentucky's football program.

We'll be retracing recruitments, rounding up the programs that Kentucky beat out for each player, and breaking down how the player fits into the future of what Mark Stoops wants to do.

Recruiting History: Allen was a Kentucky recruiting priority from a very early stage in his high school career and because he attends Lexington Catholic he has frequently been around the UK program for camps, 7-on-7 tournaments, games, practices, and more. For all those reasons Kentucky was and should have always been regarded as the favorite, although it was not a given until before his senior season that he would be a Wildcat.

Through the recruiting process Allen entertained some big offers but Duke, Michigan, Washington State, and later West Virginia seemed to be the schools he was most interested in other than Kentucky. He visited Pullman, Wash., to check out WSU out of the Pac-12 several times and Mike Leach's reputation for prolific passing offenses made them a serious option. But Kentucky's staff did not relent and ultimately the allure of playing for the hometown team that had invested so much in his recruitment won out.

Offers: Cincinnati, Duke, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Washington State, and West Virginia among others.

Primary Recruiter(s): Dean Hood and Mark Stoops

How He Fits: Allen's arrival at Kentucky will be well-timed, as he will have the luxury of developing behind the scenes and working his way up the depth chart as more experienced, veteran players are counted on in the early going.

His growth trajectory as a player is a positive. Allen has gotten significantly bigger to the point where size is not an issue and his arm strength has also shown improvement. In terms of his release, accuracy, football IQ, and leadership intangibles, those have always been there, as judged from film, the testimony of those around him, his ability to lead comebacks on the field, and the place he occupied as a helpful recruiter once he picked the 'Cats.

Allen will be one of the higher-ranked quarterbacks Kentucky has signed under Mark Stoops and he's the kind of pro-style they have been looking for to bring more balance to the offense.

He passed for roughly 3,600 yards with 38 touchdown passes and eight interceptions, rushing for a dozen touchdowns as well.